"Kenneth Estes tells how the U.S. Marine Corps came to acquire the armored fighting vehicle and how it was put to use. The marine tank officer and military historian offers an insider's view of the Corps's acquisition and utilization of armored fighting vehicles over the course of several generations, a view that illustrates the characteristics of the Corps as a military institution and of the men who have guided its development.

His book examines the planning, acquisition, and employment of tanks, amphibian tractors, and armored cars and explores the ideas that led to the fielding of these weapons systems along with the doctrines and tactics intended for them, and their actual use in combat.".

"Drawing on archival resources previously untouched by researchers and on interviews of both past and serving crewmen, Estes presents a unique and unheralded story that is filled with new information and analysis of the armored vehicles, their leaders, and the men who drove these steel chariots into battle. Such authoritative detail and documentation of the decisions to acquire, develop, and organize armored units in the U.S.

Marine Corps assures the book's acknowledgment as a definitive reference."--BOOK JACKET.